


Deceit

by ivarara



Series: other hk writing [1]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:40:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21623905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivarara/pseuds/ivarara
Summary: Cavan isn't who they seem.
Series: other hk writing [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1558498
Kudos: 3





	Deceit

Vigor is curious, and always has been.

So when something new pops up, they investigate.

Cavan skitters off further into Deepnest, leaving Vigor to trail. 

_Wait!_ They think to them _. I’m coming! Hold up!_

Cavan does not wait. Cavan continues tearing through tunnels and caverns alike, quickly and silently. It isn’t unusual for Cavan. Cavan is single-minded, being so hollow, that when they decide on a task they do not stop to investigate anything or anyone else. Vigor usually keeps pace with them, but this time, they continuously stay just ahead of their twin.

 _Cavan! Wait,_ Vigor huffs, _so I can catch up to you! We’ll go together!_

Cavan does not stop. Cavan scrambles further into the twisting tunnels and winding paths.

Vigor is lost by now. They don’t even try to figure out where they are or where they should be. All they care about it Cavan and where they’re going. They’re curious where they’re headed, concerned what’s got them so hurried, afraid of what they might find. 

Further down the path, Cavan pauses and finally waits for Vigor to catch up a bit. They don’t wait long, just enough for them to keep sight of their twin.

Vigor huffs and puffs. They’re used to such strenuous running, but this is different. The air is thicker down here. It’s darker. They’re spending more focus trying to see where they’re going so they don’t run into anything. Cavan doesn’t seem to be having any issues, which is normal, but Vigor does.

At the end of the tunnel, Cavan waits and tilts their head. That was unusual. Cavan usually only did so when spoken to, to show they were listening. Maybe they had found something?

Vigor scuttles up to them. _Sibling, you must stop. I grow tired of running so far._

Cavan stares blankly back at them, tilting their head to the other side. 

Slowing, Vigor grows uneasy. They’re too far down into the depths of Deepnest to call for any help if something goes wrong. We should go back. It’s too ... scary down here.

Cavan shakes their head. _Come. We go further._ Their voice sounds off, but Vigor tallies it up to exhaustion finally showing in them, too.

Vigor follows, trepidly and tentatively. At the base of the tunnel is a bigger room, with things hanging from the ceilings and bones and shells scattered about the dirt floor.

 _I don’t think we should go in there,_ Vigor stammers. 

Cavan ignores them, barging straight into the room themself. 

_Cavan!_ Vigor seethes. For being hollow, their sibling could still be so dense sometimes.

In the room, Cavan stands still, staring at what’s hanging from the ceiling. A thick, web-like door snaps shut behind Vigor when they enter, and a heavy feelings forms in their chest. This isn’t good. This can’t be good.

Hanging from the ceiling are bodies, strung up like decorations. They dangle motionlessly in the room, no breeze present to stir them. Cavan waits patiently in the center of the room for Vigor to approach.

Come near, sibling, Cavan urges. _Come close, relax. There is nothing to worry about here._ Their voice grates and snarls, nothing like Cavan’s usual smooth timbre.

Vigor stops. _No. I want to leave._

 _You will not make it out_. Cavan says indifferently _. I am powerful. You are not_.

Vigor jolts. _Cavan? What do you mean?_ They go to draw their nail.

Cavan’s head jerks, almost as if in a sneeze, but then twists and snaps as their mask completely turns sideways on a jagged neck. A spine erupts from their form, limbs jabbing into the ground as a glowing orange belly expands and reveals itself from within its hiding. Cavan--or whatever this thing is--hisses, rearing up and swiping at the air with its front legs.

This is not Cavan. This is…

The impostor lunges for Vigor, who barely manages to block a needle-pointed limb away from their chest where it would have punctured them like a Lifeblood cocoon. The creature snarls angrily, skittering away to prepare for another assault.

 _Cavan!_ Vigor cries out for their other half. _Please! Help me!_

The real Cavan answers then.

_I am here._

Something bursts through the thick, web-forged door with brute force. Cavan sears into the fray, furiously swinging at the Nosk in front of them. The Nosk rears once more, angered.

 _We work together._ Cavan says.

_Are you--?_

_I am me. I am Cavan_.

Vigor would huff a sigh of relief if they could. Instead, they ready their nail again to face off with Nosk, only with a partner.

Take out its limbs, Cavan commands, ever-analytical. It cannot attack if it cannot move.

Vigor darts in to slice at one of the numerous limbs. It falls away with a burst of orange and wet splick, to which the Nosk roars in pain and fury. Cavan darts in for the abdomen, delivering a sharp stab to the glowing orange bulb at the thorax of the beast. Nosk stumbles, but continues to fight. The Infection leaks out of it like the faulty roofs in the City of Tears leak lakewater, leaving a sickly trail in its wake. 

Vigor strikes again, slicing off a limb towards the front of the Nosk. Off-balance, it collapses, scrabbling to regain its footing. Cavan lashes out, slicing off yet another spindly limb, then swings back to puncture the thorax further.

It’s a violent death. But such a deceitful thing deserves no merciful fate.

Cavan looms over their foe’s corpse in the aftermath before turning to face Vigor. They are spattered with orange flecks and splotches, just as Vigor is. 

_I am sorry you were deceived,_ Cavan apologizes monotonically. _You did not deserve it._

 _I am simply glad the real you is unharmed,_ Vigor responds. _I was afraid._

_Do not be. We were taught not to feel._

Vigor huffs. _And we were still discarded._

Vigor cannot hold back any more. They crash into their twin in a tight embrace, to which Cavan does not respond at first. Hugs are still something they are learning. They awkwardly reach a hand up to pat Vigor’s shoulder tensely. 

Vigor sighs. Their sibling is nearly hollow, pure and empty, but that did not devoid their care and affection for them.

And it never would. 


End file.
